Saturday, November 14, 2015

Husam Musa is showing us what it means to be a member of a democratic political party - a party that will certainly encourage freedom of expression and opinion amongst its members. Disagreeing with other party members, or even having a differing view with the President or the Party is never wrong. In fact, in any democratic organisation, there will be a lot of expressions of disagreement with the leadership when you believe they are wrong.

In my opinion, UMNO and the BN culture may be different - because there, the moment that you express disagreement with the leadership, or even question leaders, you are penalised... Remember how Najib reacted when his Deputy questioned him? See how there may be 'ongoing investigation' with possible termination of membership because some may be wanting to get rid of Najib...?

Joining a society and political party should never mean losing your own views, opinions,...and your freedoms. You certainly do not always have to 'agree' and reiterate the views expressed by the leadership.

But in Malaysia, many do so...and some leaders also believe that they can do or say anything for so long as they stay in power until the next elections...

That is the kind of thinking that our BN and/or Najib is trying to propagate - do not protest, do not speak out against the government - do nothing now until the next General Elections when you can then freely vote in who you want. But for now, be 'loyal' support the leader of the day? [Sadly, this kind of thinking is also present in many other organizations..even some societies and trade unions..]

No - that is not the way. When you see something wrong today - you speak out and act today > and the target audience is always the public or the general membership of the party.

Secretly communicating with the leader of the party first is not a necessity...but as a matter of courtesy, some may do that. In any organization, the ultimate 'bosses' are all the members - never the leadership of the day.

Some may say, 'Do not do it publicly - wait for the AGM' - that, I believe, is a foolish suggestion > the issue today should be responded now, why delay?

In my opinion, what Husam Musa is doing now is great - and I hope all other members of organisation emulate him.

Joining a party or organization is never a surrender of one's freedom of expression or opinion, and certainly not a suppression of one's own principles and values.

An organization who sacks members who have a different view must ask itself whether it believes in democracy?

There are certain matters which a political party/organization may take a definite position - like the Opposition to the ISA and Detention Without Trial Laws. Now, if a member in the Executive Committee of the organisation makes a statement that he supports the ISA - then one may want to remove him from the Exco. BUT, when he makes the statement, he clearly states that it is his/her personal view and not that of the party, I see no problem. Nazri Aziz has come out a couple of times calling for the abolition of the death penalty - and when he does so, he states that it is his personal view not that of the government.

If he/she is not a member of the Exco - then there is nothing wrong with an expression of his/her view.

PAS - will they react like UMNO or some BN parties? Will disciplinary action be commenced? Or will they behave like a democratic party that respects freedom of expression?

Abdul Hadi Awang,PAS President:- Will he respond like Najib did with the RM2.6 billion issue? OR will he just answer the queries raised by Husam - and provide all of us a response...So, what will it be? Silence or transparency? All of us in Malaysia deserves an answer from Hadi?

I sincerely hope that he does not go to court and sue Husam for defamation, which I believe is not the right way. Just give us all an answer...

Husam standing his ground in PAS

Former PAS deputy president Husam Musa has declared that he will never deviate from the Islamist party’s struggle.

Responding to a question at the ‘Demo Tanya, Ambo Jawab’
(You Ask, I Answer) dialogue session in Kota Baru today, the Salor
assemblyperson said that no one has the right to order him to leave the
party, including the PAS Dewan Ulama.

“Who are you, who am I?
(Based on) my independent reasoning, I still choose to stay in this
‘ship’ (PAS) because the ship has not sunk.

“The Dewan Ulama PAS
chief (Mahfodz Mohamed) is on the same level as I am. PAS is not owned
by the Dewan Ulama, neither is it owned by me,” said Husam.

Mahfodz
had recently said the party does not need any ‘wolves in sheep’s
clothing’ and urged Husam to leave PAS and join Parti Amanah Negara,
following his vocal criticisms of party president Abdul Hadi Awang.

In response to Mahfodz, Husam questioned why he should leave.

“What have I done wrong? Show me evidence of what I have done wrong based on the Quran, hadith (sayings of the prophet), ijmak (consensus of ulamak), and qiyas (analogy). That is how the Dewan Ulama should be thinking.

“He
is now behaving like common people, like a gangster. Who are you? If he
(Mahfodz) says ‘I am the Dewan Ulamak chief’, I will say ‘I am the PAS
Kubang Kerian division chief’,” stressed Husam.

He also pointed out that he heads one of the strongest divisions in Malaysia.

“I
should be the one telling people to leave. I have contested in three
state seats and one Parliamentary seat. Alhamdulillah, I won.

“When
I contested a parliamentary seat, besides (former prime minister) Dr
Mahathir (Mohamad), I was the Malay candidate with the highest majority
of votes, so I should be the one asking him (Mahfodz) to leave,” he
said.

At the dialogue session attended by around 2,000 people,
Husam also reiterated that there is nothing wrong with his criticisms of
PAS leaders.

Own up to the mess you created, Husam tells Hadi

COMMENT
Not as weighty perhaps as the 1MDB debate, yet critical to the
resolution of issues of national import is the contention between the
participants in the PAS debate over the party’s future.

While the
off-on-off again 1MDB debate between Tony Pua of DAP and Arul Kanda
Kandasamy of the state wealth fund is tied up in pre-match
technicalities, the contestation in PAS is free of such encumbrances.

And
what’s more, issues within its ambit are susceptible to monosyllabic
resolutions, a welcome change from the convolutions of 1MDB that render
the subject opaque.

A simple ‘Yes’ or ‘No’
reply was what Husam Musa, a protagonist in the PAS debate, said was
required of his target, party president Abdul Hadi Awang, to the
question the former party veep framed:

“Did you or did you not admit to attempting to form a coalition government with Umno in Selangor last year?”

Essentially
what Husam was pressing Hadi for was a response at this stage of
to-and-fro between them on what is a battle for the soul of the Islamic
party.

Never mind that this argument should have taken place
before the PAS polls in June which eventuated in the wipeout of the
progressives of the party, among whom Husam is a leading light.

But
the star performer in the Kelantan executive council composed under the
menteri besar-ship of the late Nik Aziz Nik Mat (1990-2013) chose to
stay back in PAS while his progressive compatriots went on to form the
splinter, Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah).

How the conservative
ulama, victors in the party polls, must wish that Husam had left with
the rest of the progressive cohort because now he is directing a stream
of fire at them, particularly Hadi, for what he is says is conduct
wholly at odds with decisions made by its highest legislative body - the
muktamar, which is its annual assembly.

Hadi’s disregard for decisions made at the muktamar is the nub of Husam’s criticisms aimed at the president.

Hadi
has not responded to the salvoes hurled at him but his surrogates in
the party have: they accuse Husam of joining a retinue of critics,
ranging from DAP, Amanah and Umno, in lambasting the party.

‘Hapless target of critics’

Significantly,
the respondents have not dealt with the substance of Husam’s diatribe,
preferring instead to portray the party as the hapless target of carping
critics with ignoble motives.

One motive that they attribute to
Husam is disappointment at not being chosen as menteri besar when Nik
Aziz retired as MB after the general election in May, 2013.

Ascribing
motives cannot substitute for argument which is why the failure of
Hadi’s defenders to respond substantively to Husam’s criticisms will
give added impetus to Hadi’s critics within and without PAS.

Even
those in the party who are aligned to Hadi frowned at Hadi’s recently
announced intention to collaborate with Perkasa, the right-wing Malay
group scorned by all sectors of the opposition, including PAS, which is
apt to look askance at the parochialism of the causes the group
espouses.

The
Selangor wing of PAS wasted no time in disavowing any intention to
collaborate with Perkasa after Hadi was seen embracing Perkasa chief
Ibrahim Ali, a politician many oppositionists would not like to touch
even with a barge pole.

Hadi is felt to have shot himself in the
foot by indicating that there would be cooperation between PAS and
Perkasa on issues of mutual concern such as opposition to the trade
pact, Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, and misuse of the
anti-terrorism law, Sosma, even though concern over these issues is
widely shared among oppositionists.

Clearly, Husam’s strategy is
to let Hadi’s self-inflicted injuries undermine him within PAS, citing
the growing urgings for PAS to be led by leaders unencumbered by the
taint of a connection to Umno.

Umno is seen as weighed down by the
toxicity of 1MDB and attempts by PAS leaders to forge links with Umno
is viewed as trying to revive a fatally flawed party.

Husam has
suggested that party deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man, who is at
pains to prefer distance to dalliance with Umno, is more suitable for
the task of leading PAS.

Suffice that Husam’s strictures have
ignited a debate in PAS and even if he is seen as a lone and forlorn
voice of dissent, still his stature as one of the leading lights in the
state administrations of the revered Nik Aziz will keep the torch of the
progressives alight in the Islamic party even as most of its bearers
have crossed over to Amanah.

TERENCE NETTO has
been a journalist for more than four decades. A sobering discovery has
been that those who protest the loudest tend to replicate the faults
they revile in others. - Malaysiakini, 8/11/2015

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